The Link Between Diabetes And Carrots

Having diabetes is such a big deal. You become restricted from eating some of your favourite meals and a little clumsiness or a cheat meal or fruit like a pineapple can trigger high sugar levels which might lead to health problems. This is because an “unofficial red sign” on the Glycemic Index literally means trouble.

Varieties Of Carrots. Photo credit: Seasoned Advice

The GI is the index used to know how high your sugar level has risen due to the food consumed. Because of this, it seemed absolutely normal that high GI meals be taken out of a diabetic’s list and for a long time, carrots fell into this list partly because of its sweet taste. This was understandable because after consuming carrots your blood level rises to 41 on the Glycemic Index (GI). When blended, they contain carbohydrates which convert to glucose.

However, recent research by the Stanford University, California the Human Genetics Journal indicates that meals containing carotene like raw carrots might actually prevent or reduce type 2 diabetes. According to their research, increased consumption of carotene reduced the risk of diabetes type 2 drastically. The findings reveal that, when people with common genes variations such as the gene SLC30A4 come consume meals with beta-carotene, the carotene converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is one of the necessities for a diabetic patient. A school of thought argue that lack of vitamin A “might” be the “cause” of diabetes. Raw carrot is known as a meal with a lot of carotenes. In fact, top of the head recall for beauty enthusiast when they see carrot is carotene.

While meals and fruits with high GI provide you with energy that makes you feel energized and very active temporarily, it causes your blood sugar to rise. On the other hand, fruits or meals with low GI are slowly used by the body. That is why when you eat them they fill you up but the glucose is not used immediately.

Although the researchers still call for more research into their findings, don’t stop exercising and eating carrots.